Football Shows Improvement in Second Scrimmage

BATON ROUGE – LSU continued to show improvement on both sides of the ball in its second scrimmage of preseason camp here Saturday as the Tigers went through a 125-play workout in Tiger Stadium.

Saturday’s scrimmage was scripted and had the Tigers working on different down and distance combinations from different field positions. LSU also spent time on all phases of special teams. Most of the scrimmage was “thud” with no tackling to the ground, but the Tigers did have “live” tackling for about 25 plays. Full scrimmage statistics were not released.

“The weather was as nice as I can remember for a first scrimmage in Tiger Stadium,” LSU coach Les Miles said after the workout. “It was kind of what you would expect for an early first full scrimmage. We had some sloppy plays at times but at other times we were excellent. Our defense was very difficult to move against. I think the offense ended up rushing for about 200 yards.

“It was a very competitive go. We looked at situations and some key matchups that might be presented to us by our opponent in the first game. We put some of that in there for our defense to see.”

Miles complimented the play of senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who completed 18-of-25 passes with no interceptions. Mettenberger threw a pair of touchdown passes as did backup quarterback Anthony Jennings.

”We are throwing a variety of throws and we are going to attack the defense in a number of ways,” Miles said of LSU’s passing game. “We are going to attack it deep, attack it intermediate, and attack it short and wide on the perimeter. (Zach) is getting so many reps throwing the football. His accuracy is so much better. His instincts are sound.”

Defensively, linebacker Deion Jones recorded the only interception of the scrimmage, picking off a Jennings pass that was batted into the air. The interception was the only turnover for the LSU offense marking the second straight scrimmage that the Tigers went without a lost fumble.

Miles praised the LSU defensive line for its play on Saturday, in particular that of sophomore Danielle Hunter, who batted down at least two passes and had at least one sack.

“Danielle Hunter knocked down a couple passes,” Miles said. “He is creating real havoc for the offense at times. Both Ego (Ferguson) and Anthony (Johnson) are playing well. I think the other end - Jordan Allen. He is playing really well. He has really waited for his turn and maintained that spot. He is playing extremely well. We look forward for our ends taking the field. We think they will be ready.”

On special teams, redshirt freshman Colby Delahoussaye connected on all four of his field goal attempts, while junior James Hairston kicked the ball through the endzone on a couple of his kickoffs. Sophomore punter Jamie Keehn had a handful of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line during the punting portion of the workout.

“I think we are really ahead in special teams,” Miles said. “There is some knowledge there that has been built over time. I think Coach McGaughey is really making a difference there.

The Tigers will take Sunday off before returning to practice on Monday for its final two-a-day session of camp.

“This was one of those days as a coach you can’t wait to get to the film room because it will tell you and direct your next two weeks,” Miles said. “It will get us ready for our first opponent.”